Today every enterprise is becoming a digital innovation factory.
MEDIA 7: You have been with IDC for over 16 years. How does IDC foster an innovative culture within the organization?
RONITA BHATTACHARJEE: International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. Founded in 1964, it has grown into a worldwide organization with a presence across 110 countries. IDC cares about its employees and the community, and we are dedicated to making life at IDC a rewarding experience for everyone who joins our team. Words that our employees most frequently use to describe working at IDC include "innovative," "friendly," "entrepreneurial," and "supportive." As the market fluctuates and businesses reorganize, it's up to us to focus, follow, and forecast.
Our employees have a significant role to play in being responsive to changes in the marketplace, and this helps to foster an action-oriented, "Let’s try it attitude." We also encourage autonomy through a decentralized management style that leaves plenty of room for ideas, collaboration, and sharing of best practices. At IDC, we also have a strong diversity and inclusion (D&I) policy. Diversity increases our ability to think critically and innovatively, because the diversity of our teams means that each person’s unique background, experience, personality, and problem-solving approach will come into play, increasing our ability to approach a project from different angles and perspectives.
M7: One of the most sought-after events in the Middle Eastern region is the IDC Middle East CIO Summit 2022 which will take place in February 2022. Can you please tell us about some of the developments that you are excited about?
RB: The annual IDC Middle East CIO Summit is the place to come for thought-provoking, in-depth discussions about cutting-edge tech solutions, emerging use cases, and proven strategies for driving success. For 15 straight years, it has served as the ICT world's premier source of learning about the industry's latest developments. The 2022 edition will run under the theme, 'Accelerating Your Journey to a Digital-First World,' with an in-person event taking place in Dubai on February 22 to 23, 2022, to be followed by a digital installment for the wider GCC region on February 24. After a gap of one year, we are returning to the in-person format, and we are very excited to meet the ICT ecosystem face-to-face once again.
Senior business leaders, influential IT heads, and respected industry analysts will share their collective expertise on how best to meet the unique challenges of these unprecedented times. Following the immense success of last year's event, the 2022 edition will see the return of the CIO Masterclass Arena that attendees can access throughout the event. This section of the virtual platform will showcase a series of exclusive CXO best-practice presentations, fireside chats, and panel discussions with more than 50 international and regional industry pioneers. Aside from the power-packed content, the Summit will also incorporate fun and interactive elements, including celebrity speakers, VR & robotics-based activities, gamification & wellness kiosks, and peer-to-peer networking zones.
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Organizations across the region are increasingly embracing a digital-first approach to building resilience into their operations as the pandemic has changed markets dramatically.
M7: Speaking of IDC events, the Women Transformation Technology Summit 2021 was also held recently. Could you please share some of the key takeaways and your experience with the event?
RB: This was the inaugural edition of IDC’s Women Transforming Technology Summit, with two separate events taking place — one for the Middle East and one for Africa. With a focus on diversity and inclusion (D&I), the event series hosted each region's most inspirational female tech pioneers as they detailed their own journeys and the invaluable contributions they have made to their organizations. At IDC, we are committed to setting new benchmarks for the industry, and through the IDC Women Transforming Technology Summit, we were aiming to provide a platform that will help accelerate the implementation of D&I best practices across the region.
We believe that diverse organizations perform better, hire better talent, have more engaged employees, and retain workers better than those that do not focus on D&I. D&I today is about driving change in organizational and managerial processes to develop an environment that maximizes the potential of all employees — particularly in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields where organizations are often viewed as being male-dominated. We were overwhelmed by the support we received for these two groundbreaking events, with more than 800 delegates taking part. Combining interactive workshops with first-hand CEO insights and more than 70 internationally and regionally renowned speakers, the events were appreciated by all who participated in them.
M7: Pandemic and the subsequent economic fallout have accelerated digital transformation across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. What do you believe are the top challenges for the industry in general and IDC as you start moving into the next year?
RB: Organizations across the region are increasingly embracing a digital-first approach to building resilience into their operations as the pandemic has changed markets dramatically. The era of the 'Future Enterprise' is upon us and the challenge that organizations face today is the need to introduce new customer experiences, digital ecosystem business models, digital supply chains, and 'Future of Work' models. However, the META region in general — and the Middle East in particular — has achieved a quite noticeable improvement in these areas. As the COVID-19 global pandemic gained momentum in early 2020, we at IDC acted with agility and speed to seamlessly transition to a fully digital platform.
Our Digital Outreach Programs were introduced as pandemic-containment efforts continued to grow, reaching full quarantine measures in almost every country around the world. Since their launch, we have hosted more than 200 digital events across META, providing multiple benefits and value adds for our partners at a time of extreme uncertainty. Building on last year's success, we are continuing to evolve our portfolio of digital outreach solutions to help our partners seize new opportunities, leverage the current landscape, and embark on their recovery journeys as a return to normality is insight. Our upcoming series of hybrid events will enable both physical and virtual interactions for attendees and partners through carefully designed agenda formats backed by IDC's research-based content and respected analyst insights.
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D&I today is about driving change in organizational and managerial processes to develop an environment that maximizes the potential of all employees.
M7: What sets IDC apart from other market research companies?
RB: IDC employs a number of assets that set us apart from other market research firms. Our comprehensive coverage promotes understanding of multiple industries. Additionally, our 'global' research model, which is our study of both local and regional markets 'on the ground,' helps us to understand the nuances of local country markets while improving our global coverage. In addition, IDC employees are committed to supporting the highest standards of ethics in every aspect of the operation and conduct business in a manner that is fair, honest, and lawful. IDC has developed a set of standards that incorporate full and transparent documentation of all research methodologies used. Our forecast assumptions and projections are based on surveys that are statistically sound to ensure only objective and accurate data is used. We engage in extensive validation and "sanity checks" to provide boundary conditions for our major forecasts. And we have implemented standard definitions across geographies and coverage areas, and used common analytical tools to ensure consistency.
M7: Lastly, what do you think is essential to stay competitive in a market that is going through constant digitalization?
RB: Today every enterprise is becoming a digital innovation factory. With a rapidly growing digital economy, today’s business leaders are currently in the middle of a seismic shift in the way businesses view and use technology. While companies will still follow legacy operational processes, the need to innovate will become increasingly essential to the success of their businesses.
By 2023, IDC predicts that an enterprise's ability to rapidly develop its own digital innovations will be a core competitive requirement, as more than half of the worldwide economy will be digitally driven. This transition to a "new normal" requires a strong and carefully thought-out strategy and execution plan, along with strong skills and substantial agility. When organizations understand they can fully change their operating models, creating more customer value and optimize for success, it completely shifts the strategy and dynamics of an organization's business plan and future vision. This change can be daunting, but it can also pave the way for a future of success in the digital economy.